The cold snap that has gripped Europe for two weeks has caused severe disruptions to natural gas exports from the world's second-biggest gas exporter Norway, Norwegian pipeline operator Gassco said Monday.
"It's very hard to put a number on the reduction (of exports), since production generally varies from day to day, but it is significant," Gassco spokesman Kjell Varlo Larsen told AFP.
Ice build-up in the pipes has forced Anglo-Dutch oil and gas company Shell to halt production in the Ormen Lange field in the Norwegian Sea, a large gas field that supplies Britain through the undersea Langeled pipeline, the longest in the world.
"Work is being done to assess the situation and measures are being put in place to remedy it," Shell spokesman David Williams said, providing no other details.
A gas treatment plant in Kaarstoe, in southwestern Norway, has also been experiencing problems since Saturday because of the cold. On Monday at midday, production was restored to two-thirds, according to its operator, Norwegian oil and gas group Statoil.
"The inspection and de-icing of a lot of pipes takes a long time," Larsen said.
"We hope the situation will be back to normal soon," he added.
According to Gassco, Norway is the world's second-biggest gas exporter behind Russia.
In 2008, the Scandinavian country exported some 95 billion cubic metres of gas, primarily to Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Spain.
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